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Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Pope sends 80th birthday wishes to Cardinal Christophe Pierre (Vatican News)

Pope Leo XIV expressed appreciation for Cardinal Christophe Pierre’s service to the Holy See as the apostolic nuncio to the United States celebrated his 80th birthday.

Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, was present in Washington for the cardinal’s birthday party on January 30 and read aloud the papal telegram. Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was also present at the gathering.

Cardinal Pierre was appointed apostolic nuncio to the United States in 2016. He was previously apostolic nuncio to Uganda (1999-2007) and Mexico (2007-2016).

Cuban bishops warn of risk of chaos and violence, call for greater political freedom (CWN)

Warning of the risk of chaos and violence, the bishops of Cuba called for “structural, social, economic, and political changes” in the Caribbean nation, including “respect for the dignity and exercise of freedom of every human being.”

Pope Leo: Images of saints remind us of universal call to holiness (Dicastery for Communication)

Presiding at the inauguration of a Marian mosaic and a statue of St. Rose of Lima in the Vatican Gardens (video), Pope Leo XIV said that “the two figures represented, our heavenly Mother and the first Latin American saint, Rose of Lima, bring us to the theme of holiness.”

“These beautiful images we are contemplating today recall the greatness of the vocation to which God calls us, namely, the universal vocation to holiness,” Pope Leo continued. “I encourage you, with God’s grace, to be witnesses and examples of that holiness in today’s world. For that is God’s will: our own sanctification.”

The event took place on the afternoon of January 31, with the Peruvian bishops, the ambassador of Peru to the Holy See, and the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State in attendance.

Reflecting on peace, Pope Leo says 'greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion' (CWN)

Addressing young people involved in a political innovation hackathon associated with the Focolare Movement, Pope Leo XIV reflected on peace as “a gift, a covenant and a promise” and said that “there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself.”

Background: World Day for Consecrated Life (CWN)

February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is also the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life, a commemoration instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.

Pope marks World Day for Consecrated Life, calls on religious to be prophets (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this evening (booklet, video) and called upon consecrated men and women “to be prophets—messengers who announce the presence of the Lord and prepare the way for him.”

SSPX to ordain new bishops (CWN)

The superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X announced today that the Society’s bishops will consecrate new bishops on July 1.

Feb. 2 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Feast

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas Day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. See the Prayer Section for the full rite of the Procession and Blessing of Candles at Mass.

Pontiff fills see that was vacant for 13 years (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Manuel Nin Güell, OSB, as apostolic exarch of the Territorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata in Italy.

15 US bishops urge Senate to reject ICE funding (EWTN News)

Fifteen US bishops, led by the archbishops of Santa Fe and Seattle, expressed their “deep opposition” to an appropriations bill to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We cannot support legislation that expands or sustains enforcement practices without adequately addressing their consequences for families and communities,” the bishops and other signatories said. A budget “that prioritizes detention and removal—while lacking strong safeguards for family unity, due process, and accountability—risks entrenching harm rather than promoting justice or public safety.”